


Stranger Than Fiction

by HimuraMasaki



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Kind of AU, M/M, Underage Damian, dickdami, if i feel like it, maybe future smut?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2018-12-15 08:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11802471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HimuraMasaki/pseuds/HimuraMasaki
Summary: I posted this same story is there on ff.net a few days back. Based very loosely on the canon universe, but doesn't follow any specific canon storyline. This is the story of how Dick Grayson meets the youngest Wayne and eventually trains him to be the next Robin. It's also the story of Dick escaping assassination attempts every day. Probably DickDami in the distant future (Damian is 10 as of chapter 1), but for now, just fluff.





	1. Chapter 1

 

"Dick, come by the Manor right now, as soon as you can. I have someone you need to meet. A student for you."

That had been the brief 'conversation' between Dick and Bruce. Before the raven-haired superhero had even a chance to say "Hey Bats," Bruce had already stated his business and hung up. Nothing out of the ordinary, of course. _Way to treat your first protege,_ Dick thought, _Guess he must be happy with whoever this new kid is._

With a heavy sigh, Dick got on his motorbike - now, this bike wasn't anything as fancy as the Bat-mobile, but, courtesy of Tim Drake(who liked to call the bike the _Birdbike_ , but Dick wasn't overly fond of that naming), it was a stylish and functional bike, helpful to carry things like a Nightwing suit and weapons in, as well as very efficient on gas. Tim had always been very great with things like this, and Dick was grateful that he had been willing to lend a hand. The bike was extremely satisfactory both as just a ride, and as a way to chase bad guys. It had been almost six years since Dick had retired as Robin. He had left Gotham for a little while then, in search of himself, and what he really wanted to do. A year after that, he came home to Gotham and decided what he wanted to do. A simple day job as a cop. No more vigilante business, and no more superhero-ing. As much as he loved backing Bruce up, Dick had come to realize that there were a lot of things in Gotham that vigilantes just couldn't solve. There was a need to be within the system to overturn it. Bruce had agreed with Dick's decision and had put in a good word with Commissioner Gordon for Dick, letting him get a good job, with a good partner.

Dick did occasionally miss Blüdhaven, but he had quickly gotten used to being a cop in Gotham city. Initially, he had been happy to just be a cop under Gordon. He was a really good commissioner, and among a city of corrupt, scumbag cops, he was one guy who had a genuine interest in justice. Dick's cop phase didn't last though. There came a point where he had to revisit Blüdhaven to bring back his vigilante suit (which wasn't exactly great, but was functional), because he was just jealous of seeing Bruce take Jason out as the next Robin. Seeing the duo of vigilantes going out and cleaning Gotham up made Dick want to continue his job as well, and so he resumed his night job. It was just around then that Dick had the pleasure of meeting a young Tim Drake, a little boy who loved to build things. Tim had helped Dick with making a few upgrades to the suit, thinking that it was for a university talent show. It was only later, once pictures of _Nightwing_ hit the Gotham papers that Tim realized that the masked handsome vigilante was none other than Dick himself. It hadn't been a bad conversation, because, having tested the suit out in action, Dick was ready to let Tim in on the secret, so as he had started saying it, Tim had just completed his sentences. They were a pair made in heaven, and it was so great for both of them. It was only then that Dick learned that Tim was also in correspondence with Bruce, and was interested in becoming the next Robin, after the situation with Red Hood settled down.

All in all, it had been four years since Dick became Nightwing in Gotham. However, he hadn't stayed in Gotham the whole time. He was always back and forth between Blüdhaven and Gotham, though for the past year, he had stayed mostly in Gotham. He was constantly fighting for good, be it along with Batman and Robin, or on his own. The great thing about not being the biggest 'hero' in the city was that Dick had the freedom to go around to other cities (mostly Blüdhaven and Central City) as well, and help them out with their cases, if they ever needed the help. Dick had also been the one to train Tim as the Red Robin, so it made sense for Bruce to call him in to train the next Robin - that's who Dick reckoned he was going to meet anyway. It had been a year since Tim had decided to quit being Robin and instead, just help at the desk, building the _toys_ and helping the vigilantes over the comms, if they should need that support. It had been a huge upgrade, since the only person they had ever had on comms from the cave before was Alfred, and as amazing as it was to have Alfred's voice talking them through a mission, there were limits to it. For one, it was very distracting, because his voice is great.

When Dick finally reached the Manor, he walked straight down to the Batcave and as expected, Tim and Bruce were sitting there, near the computers. Tim had taken the liberty of installing advanced computers, with fast processors that could keep up with his brain when he needed to code or hack, and a large combat area in the middle, where Dick had spent a lot of time training Tim. Dick had already acquainted himself with all the technology, so he walked closer to the two. Bruce was responsible for the financing and Tim for the building. And Dick? Well, he did take care of the most important job. Comedic relief! Well, and he was an observer, to make sure that nothing was out of place even by a centimetre.

"Hey, Bruce, Tim. What's up?"

He sighed and went to sit on one of the chairs when he realized it was already occupied. _No, that can't be. I never make a mistake with observation. There was no legs visible on the floor._ He looked a little above the floor to find a pair of legs dangling off the edge of the chair. Dick blinked a couple of times and speed-walked around the chairs so he was standing behind Tim's couch, looking down to see the dwarf that occupied his seat. A pair of big green eyes was staring right at him from there. Somehow, those green eyes looked oddly familiar. Dick shook his head and looked down to see the body - it belonged to a very young male, most likely around eight. Dick shook his head, almost as if expecting to open his eyes again and not see the little boy on that chair. In fact, he hoped desperately that he wouldn't see the little boy on the chair. Somehow, the kid with the blue eyes had more than just a familiar set of eyes. He had a familiar aura, or even two familiar auras emanating from him. A part of Dick saw the personification of innocence in those deep green eyes that seemed to have no end, and just kept staring into his soul. But the other part of him saw desperation, coldness and thirst. A kind thirst that could not so easily be quenched. A thirst that had no limits, and the more that was consumed, the more the thirst would increase. An extreme…bloodlust?!

Dick just stayed still for what he knew was too long for this staring to not become awkward, but it strangely didn't. It must have been easily around 2-3 minutes of him just staring at the young boy, and being stared back at(good heavens, why didn't someone break the silence, it was getting scary!). Finally, after the eternity had passed, he turned to Bruce and tilted his head, "So you had a kid? I thought a womanizer like yourself would know all about protection."

Tim grinned and looked from Dick to Bruce, "I told you he'd say something like that, Bats!"

Dick rolled his eyes, "How long have you known me? And the best you can do is _something like that_? You should be able to tell the exact words I will say. Big bro is very disappointed, Tim." Dick rolled his eyes then looked back at Bruce, "More importantly, may I ask who the mother is?"

Before Bruce could even respond, the little child did. His voice was very high-pitched and baby-like, though the words that came out were rather mature-sounding, "You don't have to talk about me like I'm not here. Name's Damian. My mother is Talia al Ghul."

Dick blinked a few times and looked from Damian to Bruce and back. The resemblance was very apparent, but he could also see how Damian was Talia's kid. That would explain the bloodlust, and it would explain why his jawline, his nose, his neck all looked so much like Ra's. Dick then smiled and held out his hand to Damian. When Damian looked at him in confusion, obviously not having a clue what a handshake was, he sighed and dropped his hand to Damian's shoulder, "It's nice to meet you, Damian. I'm Dick, well, Richard John Grayson, but nobody calls me Richard. Dick is just fine. Is it okay if I talk to your father for a moment?" He smiled and looked over at Tim apologetically before turning to Damian and pointing at Tim, "Tim here is really good at making toys, I'm sure he can keep you occupied for a few minutes."

Tim seethed a bit internally, but then smiled at Damian, walking over to him, "That's right, I do make the toys." Dick smiled and patted Tim's shoulder in thanks then walked out of the cave, followed by Bruce. Once the door was closed behind them, Dick turned around and slammed Bruce up against the wall, holding his collar threateningly.

"You did it with Ra's al Ghul's daughter?" Dick snarled out in disgust.

Bruce tilted his head, "Technically, I never _did_ anything with her. I just didn't know that Ra's would use my DNA for making a baby when I gave him a blood sample. I didn't know Damian existed until…well, today. Talia sent him over saying that he's been trained and should be an asset."

Dick narrowed his eyes, "The kid is what? Seven? Eight?!"

"Ten. Which is just around when you became Robin, might I remind you," Bruce corrected, but held his hand up in a gesture to tell Dick to continue.

"Ten, fine, whatever! He's still a baby! Nowhere near ready to be a Robin. And more than age, I'm concerned about his past training and conditioning. He's probably thirsty for vengeance. And the bloodlust is literally oozing from his body, I could feel it the moment I entered the cave. I can bet my life on the fact that he truly believes that the only way to victory is to kill. Remember how Jason ended up? And all they ever did to him was revive him! Damian is a kid they've brought up, and indoctrinated, for ten years!"

Bruce sighed and nodded, "And I agree with you, Dick. I know you're particularly passionate about this topic and that's precisely why I called you here. I want you to move back to the manor for a while. You would be the best person to train Damian. We could really use your help."

"Help?!" Dick spat out, "Don't joke with me, you just want me to do it."

Bruce shrugged and nodded, "Basically. I'll still need you out with me as Nightwing whenever possible. I won't be having any Robin for a while, since Damian isn't ready yet and Tim has already quit on me. I was hoping you could work with Gordon just a couple of days a week and stay home for the rest. It's not just training, but also educating that I want you to help with. Damian has been away from school, and I don't think it's possible to just throw him in, so I will need you to teach him all that too."

Dick grabbed Bruce's collar even tighter, pinning him against the wall and almost choking him, "You want me to babysit your kid, who just also happens to be the grandchild of _Ra's al Ghul_?! Why don't you just say it?! You want me to give him company so that you can be certain he isn't out killing people. Bruce, I can't train a kid who is going to go and become the next leader of the League of Assassins! I refuse to have that on my head."

Bruce sighed, not moving, "Dick, you need to. I don't want him to end up like Jason. Or like me… And that's why I can't train him."

Dick sighed and shook his head, letting to of Bruce, "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm still furious at you for putting yourself at the Bat family in this position. Not to mention, Damian. But Damian himself has done no wrong. So I'll do it. I'll make him the best bloody Robin you'll ever know."

Bruce sighed and his lips twitched up just a little, faintly like a smile, "Thanks Dick. Really."

Dick walked back into the cave and looked at Damian. It would seem Damian and Tim were sitting exactly where he had left them, Tim spinning on his rolling chair and Damian ignoring him completely. He tilted his head and walked over to Damian's couch, looking at the little boy, "Hey, little D. Did you not like the toys?"

Damian looked up at Dick with a glare, "Don't talk to me like I'm an infant, Grayson."

Dick blinked a couple of times and looked at the young male in utter shock. Well. This was going to be delightful. He sighed and took a deep breath, "Okay, I won't. How about you show me to your room. Bruce must have showed it to you right? And I can ask Alfred to bring us snacks."

Damian shrugged and nodded, walking out of the cave and towards the room Bruce and Alfred had shown him earlier. He didn't bother waiting for Dick to follow him. Dick sighed and looked at Tim, patting his shoulder lightly, "Well, you have a good night. You can see the kind of night I'm going to have." Tim smiled and bro-hugged his friend, telling him which room Damian would be in. Dick smiled and kissed the shorter male's head (it was something they had made a habit of since they became brothers, since Dick was already the 'dad' friend, and now he had the right to be), and sped out of the cave. Of course, Damian's room was the one next to Dick's own room at the manor. _Way to be subtle, Bruce._ He sighed and shook his head. Wasn't Tim more suited to a job like this anyway? He was funny, and friendly, and sarcastic in all the right ways. _Well, I guess I'm all that too…_ Dick sighed and shook his head.

The 20 year old walked into Damian's room and sighed, seeing the boy sitting on the floor next to the bed, trying to fit into his pyjamas - which were actually Dick's from when he was around ten. Dick smiled and walked over to Damian, helping him into the pyjama pants and helping him button up the pyjama top. "It's okay, Alfred used to help me till I was twelve. And even then, I would always try to do it on my own. I'm pretty sure there's a lot of pictures of me struggling to get my clothes on, and making a complete fool of myself."

Damian rolled his eyes and stepped away once Dick was done, "Don't compare me to your incapable self, Grayson."

Dick sighed and ignored the comment, "Well, I told Alfred to bring us some food. He should be here soon."

Little Damian shrugged and nodded, murmuring out with little interest, "Mmkay."

Dick sighed and sat on a chair, pointing at the bed, "You can sit, you know. That is your bed right there."

As good as Damian was at holding his poker face, anyone could catch the flicker of surprise as he looked at the king size bed. Obviously, this kid had never had a bed this big to himself. Dick sighed and stood up, then sat on the bed, "Would you feel more comfortable if there was someone to share this huge bed with?"

Damian just quietly sat down on the bed and looked up at Dick, "I don't need you babying me, Grayson."

Dick smiled and nodded, "I'm not though."

And really, he wasn't. He was only seeing something in Damian. Somewhat like a potential to be a Robin. Well, the kid severely lacked humour, and was a little bit of an assassin obviously, but there was something about the air around Damian – something that was distinctly and undeniably like Dick before Bruce had trained him into the first Robin. Of course, even during his time with _The Flying Graysons_ , Dick had always been lighthearted and known not only for his unrealistic acrobatic talent but also for his great(and sometimes lame) sense of humour. But Dick too had this untrusting aura. Like he would leap at anyone who tried to mess with him. And he had been just around Damian's height too, so it was a little eerie for Dick. Like he was looking at his own past. His humour was one of the reasons Dick clicked so well with everyone he met. Whether it was Wally, Roy, Jason, Tim or even Bruce Wayne himself - Dick just had a knack for turning mere strangers into his best allies. Maybe he could use that as a key to getting closer to Damian. "So, Damian, what are you into? Ra's ever let you play video games or anything?"

Damian hadn't broken eye contact with Dick for even a second. Those big green eyes we're staring holes into Dick's skull and it was driving him insane. Damian sighed and shook his head, briefly breaking the eye contact before establishing it once more, "Grandfather trained me to be his successor. I will be the leader of the League of Assassins."

Dick sighed and shook his head, "Look, Damian. Everybody gets to a point in their lives where they have to make that decision. A decision about what you're going to do with the rest of your life. For me, it was becoming Nightwing, because I want to help people in every way I can. For you, it may be choosing between being the leader of the League of Assassins and aiding into the chaos in this world, or being the next Robin and helping your father fight the evil in Gotham and in the world. And when you get to that point, you will make your own decision. But right now, you're just ten. You're a little child have all the fun in the world because, believe me, it won't last – especially while you are Bruce's protégé and in line to be Robin once you're trained and ready."

Something in Damian sparked at that, "I'm not a kid, Grayson! I'm a trained assassin and I most certainly don't need the likes of you to train me. I watched a video from before and you're so predictable. You're weak and pathetic, really, and what's with that stick? You should use the blade – way more effective and eliminating your-"

"Aaalright!" Dick cut him off, "I think that's quite enough. How about I show you a better way to prove your superiority than by killing and shedding blood?" Now that, it would seem, was how to capture Damian's undivided attention. His eyes were all but sparkling. Dick smiled and turned the TV in the room on, pulling out two joysticks and loading MarioKart on the console. He then smirked and looked over at Damian, "Think you can beat me?"

Damian quickly took hold of the joystick, examining it closely, "What kind of weapon is this?"

Dick smiled, "The lethal kind, but don't hit me with it! Here, let me show you the controls." He leaned over on the bed and help Damian get a feel of how to hold and use the joystick. Dick then picked a character for himself, letting Damian choose his own.

"All these characters look ridiculous, Grayson!" Damian sighed and went with Yoshi.

"Call me Dick," Dick smiled one of those dashing, gorgeous smiles at Damian.

Damian could feel his cheeks tint pink of it as he frowned, "I'm going to call you Grayson and there is nothing you can do about it."

Dick sighed and nodded, "Of course, Little D. Are you ready to start?" Dick waited for Damian's nod, and then loaded one of the easiest tracks to start on. He smiled and looked over at Damian, "Go wild! Don't hold back!"

Damian all but growled at that, "And why do you think I would ever hold back?" The words were at his tongue but the young one decided to just glare instead.

Dick couldn't help the small chuckle that left his mouth as he started the race, going quite slow to see if Damian had a good hang on how to use the joystick – however, it would seem his concerns were only in vain. The moment the race started, Damian was way in the lead. He was so good at the game, it was impossible to think that the kid had never even held a joystick before. Dick smirked and sped up, catching up to Damian in no time. Hey, Dick knew his way around this game. Compared to Kid Flash Damian was just…a kid (Yes, Dick just went there). As he started taking the lead, Dick started dropping banana peels to make Damian slip. Dick felt a little bad as he easily finished first. However, before he could celebrate, he was tackled to the ground. Damian was on top of him with a fist in the air ready to bring it down, "You cheated!"

Dick groaned and sat up, looking down at the boy straddling him. He did feel a bit of remorse, "I'm sorry, but you should know that there is no such thing as cheating. Just winning and losing. And I just won." He sighed and pet Damian's head as Alfred walked in with a rolling tray full of different kinds of food.

The British butler's eyes widened at the site in front of him, "Oh my! I must tell Master B that's you are already making significant progress, Master Dick."

Dick's smiled and waved at Alfred, "Hey Alfred. It has been a while since I saw you. And tell Bruce that there is no life lesson that can't be taught through MarioKart."

Alfred pushed the tray inside the room, setting it near a small table by the book shelf. He then crouched down next to the two males, "Is there anything I can do for you, Master Damian?"

Damian looked up at Alfred and nodded, "Kill Grayson. He cheated."

Dick's eyes widened and he let out is soft chuckle, and Alfred seemed to genuinely be considering Damian's order. The old Butler said, "That was rather childish of him, wasn't it, Master Damian? Perhaps some ice cream will cheer you up."

Damian looked over at the tray in mild confusion as he saw the numerous snacks and suites that the Butler had brought in – most of which he had never seen before. He stood up and looked down at Dick, kicking his side intentionally before making his way to the food tray.

Dickie yelped and squirmed, clutching his side and letting out a pained groan, "Ow! Dammit, kid… More like Damian it, amirite?" He smirked at Alfred, who looked utterly unimpressed.

Alfred cleared his throat, "Maybe if you played fair."

Dick rolled his eyes, "I'm Nightwing, not Superboy."

Alfred nodded, "Of course, Master D. If you were Superboy, you couldn't have made this much progress in an hour. In fact, in this situation, Superboy and Master Damian would be in the middle of a fight to to the death right about now. But don't cheat anymore. It's really not fair to a ten-year old."

Dick sighed, struggling and standing up, "Whatever you say, Alfred. Keep taking Damian's side. Nobody loves me." He pouted and walked towards the food.

Alfred smiled, shaking his head, and walked out of the room, headed towards Bruce's chambers to tell him the splendid news.

Damian glared at Dick, looking at the food possessively. Dick sighed and shook his head, "Come on, Damian, I said sorry, didn't I?"

Damian looked up at the tall raven and sighed, "Fine, but in exchange, you don't get any of this ice cream."

Dick tilted his head to the side. It was impossible to believe that this little child who hated people cheating and who was in love with ice cream after literally a lick was also training to be the leader of the League of Assassins. He sighed and pulled Damian into a hug. He didn't really know why, and he expected no less than a kick for doing it, but seeing the small frame in front of him, left him unable to stop himself from hugging the boy.

It had been 20 seconds since Dick had placed a hand behind the boy's head and pulled him into a tight hug, wrapping his other arm around Damian's shoulders. To Dick's surprise, no punch or kick came. Damian was just pressed against Dick's chest and he didn't move at all.

After the 20 seconds, Damian finally looked up at Dick, "What are you doing, Grayson?"

The older male blinked a couple of times and let go of the boy, holding his hands up as if he were arrested, "Oh, um, nothing. Just a hug. You know, the kind I give Tim."

"The one you shared with Drake was one second long and looked very different."

Good lord, this kid just had to be the most observant thing to exist. After Alfred, of course, nothing could get past that man. "Well, uh. It may have something to do with the fact that's Tim is around my age. I mean, I'm 20 and he is 17. And I've known him for a long time."

"Well, it looked completely idiotic."

_Fuck_ , Dick thought. Damian was going to be the end of him. His curse-filled thoughts were proof - Dick always had better ways to say things than by swearing. He never used them, except for in cases of complete exasperation. Clearly, this was one of them. "Well, how did you feel about our hug?"

Damian shrugged, "It felt a lot like when mother would sometimes hug me. But it was nicer. I guess, it may have something to do with the fact that whenever she hugged me, my face was buried in her bosom. You don't have one."

Dick could feel the blood rising to his face at that. He was very well-built and he was definitely very aware of the fact that he was a good hugger - Tim would make that comment all the time, not to mention all the times he'd heard it from Wally West. But hearing it from the little kid, saying that Dick's hug was nicer then his mother's somehow made him feel very special. Especially since Talia al Ghul was a beautiful, strong an independent woman(and sociopathic, but that's beside the point for the moment).

Truth be told, dick had always felt a little bit inferior to Talia. He had a severe complex ever since he found out Bruce had left him in Gotham to meet her. He had assumed Bruce had slept with her, but it turned out that wasn't the case, as he had mentioned recently. Not that Dick had sexual feelings for Bruce( _Ew, who do you think I am?!_ ), but he had been left behind as a 10-11 year old for his adoptive father to go running off to China. He had always hated her for taking Bruce away. _I guess this is what is meant by the wheel coming a full circle. Now, a Wayne is picking me over Talia._ Dick thought absently.

"Grayson? Earth to Grayson!"

Dick snapped out of it at that, "For real? I thought you were away from Western Society and colloquial speech."

Damian rolled his eyes, "I was brought up in the mountains. Though relatively isolated, I was not in the Stonehenge era." He ate some ice cream hurriedly, trying to hide the sparkle in his eyes at how delicious this new dish was.

Dick's side and shook his head, eating a small piece of chocolate. He watched Damian ravaging the ice cream and He has to hold himself back from laughing. How was the one kid so adorable and so utterly infuriating at the same time? How was Damian not aware of how cute he was?

After eating quite a bit ice cream and getting it all around his mouth, Damian looked up at dick, "So, when do we start training?"

Dick tilted his head, suppressing a chuckle as he wiped Damian's mouth with a napkin, "Well, seeing as how you have already been trained, I was thinking I would spend a few days getting to know you better, and teaching you more about the world. I figure you'll also probably need an actual education. I'm not the best teacher out there, but better than nothing, I hope."

Damian rolled his eyes, "Whatever, as long as you don't cheat or rig the ground. Can I still use the cave to train? Would father care?"

Dick's side, "Your dad wouldn't mind, but I'm not okay with that. I want you to stay away from it for a bit before we start training. You can't expect to always be in your best condition when you're out there with bats. And I want to see how you perform when you're rusty." It was so obvious the Damian have stopped listening after point. He was just wondering around the room, looking at the bookshelves. Quayside and ate some chips, getting back on the bed.

Damian looked at Dick until to his head. He couldn't understand that this man. No matter how much Damian had told him that he was ready to fight and ready to train, he seemed hellbent in treating Damian like a child and…taking care of him. Damian wasn't used to being taken care of. His mother was always trying to train him - trying to make him a better soldier, a better assassin. She wasn't always allied with Ra's but they both seemed to have similar dreams for Damian. But then his father and this…Grayson had to come along and started spouting things about Damian making his own decision choosing what to do in the future. It's scared Damian, more than anything, because he could start seeing logic in their words and He hadn't even spend a whole day with Grayson! This was going to end in disaster. Probably with Grayson's death.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a week since Damian had to come into the house. He had made an impression on all the people living at the manor, and even on the people who didn't live at the manor, namely Jason Todd. And to an extent, on Wally West, even though they had never met. Mostly because Dick had the habit of texting Wally just about everything, and that included all the new ways in which Damian tried to kill him in that day. However, this wasn't the kind of impression you'd expect a young boy to make in just a week living with his real and adoptive family. In the week that he had spent, he had attempted fifteen assassinations – of which, no surprise, 10 were attempts to end Dick, though all of them had been thwarted by Dick's sneakiness. Of the remaining attempts, two had been on Tim's life and two on Jason’s (even though he barely knew Damian - apparently, the little kid just didn’t like Jason’s _aura_ ). The last assassination attempt was at Alfred's life – which was accidental really, because the actual target of that attempt was… Yup. Grayson. Dick was a little tired of having to come up with new and exciting ways to evade death – not to mention comedic ways. Somehow, it made him happy – even if Damian was constantly trying to get him, at least he was thinking about him. Why was Damian trying to kill dick, you ask? It's a long story. The very first day, after all the eating and arguing, both Dick and Damian had been very exhausted and completely worn out, so they just both crashed on Damian’s bed. Dick, for some reason, woke up unnaturally early and ended up watching Damian sleep. Somehow, they had woken up cuddled up with each other - Dick on his back and Damian resting his head on Dick's firm warm chest. Dicks arm was wrapped Damian's back and Damian's rested on Dick's chest under Dick's other hand. Yup. They looked like lovers, save for the fact that Damian was a decade younger than Dick.

Still, that doesn't explain why Damian was mad at Dick. Well, the person responsible for that was none other than Tim. Not that Damian had any clue who the mastermind behind his problems was. Now Tim Drake had a hobby. His hobby was simply, plainly to make fun of Dick. So of course, when Tim had walked into the into Damian’s room that morning, and found them peacefully sleeping each others’ arms, there was no way that Tim would just look the other way. He would not make a very good brother if he simply let Dick live that off. Tim went ahead and took incriminating pictures of Dick and Damian in that compromising position. As if that weren't enough, he had distributed picture to Bats, Jason, Wally, Roy, Barry and most other people in Dick’s life. Of course, none of these people were stupid enough to pass up an opportunity to make that picture - that adorably promiscuous picture - their contact image for Nightwing(Well, Tim had to change the picture on Bruce's phone - hacker pros). The Red Robin had also taken the liberty of transferring the picture to Dick's phone via Bluetooth and made it Dick’s home and lock screen wallpaper. Needless to say, Damian ended up seeing it and thought it was Dick's idea of pulling his leg. It didn't help that Dick hadn't changed his wallpaper. So every time Damian saw Dick's phone, which was unexpectedly often, he would invariably launch at Dick’s throat, trying to kill him. Dick found the picture a little too adorable to change his wallpaper, even if that meant being attacked ever so often.

Remember how Damian had tried to kill Jason Todd a few times now? Twice? Well, there was a reason behind that - behind why Damian just couldn’t stand Jason right from the moment they met, and why Damian couldn’t bear the _aura_ Jason had. Nobody really spoke of the Red Hood, so Damian didn’t really know anything about Jason’s past, but there was one thing he knew. Damian didn’t particularly like Dick or Tim, but he could say with certainty that he despised Todd. And the feeling seemed quite mutual, there was not really a time that Jason seemed interested in Damian either. Around Damian’s third or fourth day at the Manor, Jason had come along as he always did, on his high horse, feeling all high and mighty just about being Jason Todd, strutting around like he owned the Manor. Just then, he had walked right into Damian(who may or may not have been busily pacing, trying to figure out an appropriate way to end Grayson), and Jason did three things that made it very clear to Damian that he wasn’t ever going to see eye-to-eye with green-eyes over there.

One, Jason Todd laughed at Damian.

Two, Jason Todd _pet Damian’s head_ and asked him, “Are you the rumoured kiddo? Bruce’s baby Bat?”

Three, and worst of all, Jason Todd showed Damian the picture of him and Dick (yes, that’s how Damian saw it), and went on to say, “You kind of remind me of Dickie, back when I was Robin and he had just become Nightwing. You two would get along.”

For Jason though, it didn’t take 3 actions for him to hate Damian. It was far, far quicker. When Jason had told Damian that he was similar to Grayson, Damian launched himself at Jason’s throat, throwing the adult down to the floor and snarling down at him with every intention of killing him right then. It was only when Dick showed up seconds later at the sounds and physically dragged Damian off of Jason - by picking him off the floor and setting him on his feet - that the kid finally gave up and looked at Nightwing as though he had done nothing wrong. He ignored Dick and went back into his room. And of course, Jason, being the most mature person to ever exist, just seethed and treated Damian with contempt for the rest of the day.

This day, now back to a week after Damian had moved in, Nightwing was out helping Batman stop a heist by the Joker and Harley Quinn. The criminals got away, but it was a good time to show Damian how Nightwing and Batman worked as a team. It also showed Damian how Tim helped from the Batcave. Damian just sat on a rolling chair for the most part, Rolling and spinning around the room. When Dick and Bruce came back to the cave, Damian pounced on Dick, all that snarling at him, "Your fighting is full of errors, and stupid moves and too much talking, Grayson. You’re hopeless.”

Dick laughed and pet Damian’s head, "Whatever you say, kid… You still aren't getting to train yet.”

Damian rolled his eyes and state on Dick's back, arms wrapped around the older male’s neck. It was then that he noticed red on the black suit, “Blood.”

Dick tilted his head, “Yeah. Bruce got his arm scratched up in the fight. I actually don’t know whether it was a fall, or a crash, or one of Joker’s blades. I was a little caught up with Harley then.”

Damian shook his head and squeezed Dick’s arm, almost as if to numb any pain, “Not Father. I’m talking about you, Grayson.”

Time tilted his head, pausing his bandaging of Bruce’s chest to look over at Dick’s arm bleeding through the suit. “You too, Birdie? Suit, off. This instant. Don’t get blood on my suit.” Tim watched Dick pull the suit off his top so that he was shirtless and just in the tights on the bottom. He nodded in approval and looked at Damian, “Hey, Damian. Can you tape that up for Dick while I tend to your father’s wounds? Bats has it a bit worse than a bleeding forearm, as you can see.”

Damian raised his eyebrow and got off Dick’s back, looking at Tim with a sneer, “Where do you get off telling me what to do, Drake? I refuse! Why should I have to do something as lowly as-”

“Stop it.” Dick cut off Damian with a bit of a snarl and looked at the boy, “I’ll do it myself.” He sighed and ruffled Damian’s hair with his uninjured arm for a second before it was swatted away by Damian. Dick sighed and picked up another first-aid kit and starting to bandaging up his own injury, “It’s a good thing that there’s no _Team Nightwing_. The thing about going solo is that you gotta know how to tape yourself up when you get hurt.”

Damian watched Dick taping himself up intently, tilting his head, “You’re not really good at it though. It’s kinda loose, and it’s not really in any kind of good circle.” 

Dick sighed and shrugged, “Well, maybe you shouldn’t have snapped, and helped me then. Stop your whining.”  

Damian looked at Dick blankly for a moment and tilted his head. He sighed and turned to Bruce and Tim, watching Tim intently as he bandaged up Bruce’s arm. It took him a few moments, but then he sighed and ripped Dick’s bandages off, picking up a fresh roll of bandages, and starting to tape over the gauze, copying Tim’s actions. Tim and Dick both raised their eyebrows in surprise and mild shock. The younger raven cocked his head over to the side, “Change of heart?” 

Damian shrugged and continued taping up Dick’s arm, with just the right amount of pressure against the wound and the perfect amount of tightness. He sighed and tied it off at the end, then sat down next to Dick, “There. Now you can stop _your_ whining.”  

Dick ruffled up Damian’s hair and shrugged, “Well, someone’s in a sassy mood tonight.”  

Bruce sighed and shook his head, “Damian, show Dick some respect.” 

Damian shrugged and stood up, “I’ll be going to my room.” He turned and walked off towards the door. 

Dick sighed a bit and followed hurriedly after Damian, “You could just ask me to come with you normally. It’s not like you ever feel comfortable in your room alone.” 

Damian frowned and crossed his arms, “Shut it, Grayson!” 

Tim called out after them, “I’ll drop by later!” 

Damian groaned in distaste as he left the Batcave, “As if Grayson wasn’t enough,” he muttered under his breath. 

Dick tilted his head, catching up to Damian, “Why do you hate me, Damian?” 

Damian walked into his room and hopped onto his bed, looking up at Dick with his head tilted, “I just don’t like you, Grayson. But I don’t hate you.” 

Dick blinked a couple of times and sat down on the bed beside Damian, chuckling to himself, “Wow. I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me, Damian. So, it’s literature today, right? Do you want to continue _Hamlet_ or do you want to read something else?”  

Damian shrugged and picked up the book from his bedside table, though even he couldn’t hide the light coming to his face, “I actually quite like Shakespeare, Grayson. We can read something modern later.” 

Dick nodded and smiled, “Okay. So Act 3 scene 1, right?There are two very important things in this scene. Take some time to read it over and see if you can tell me what those two things are.”

Damian nodded and took a couple of seconds to peruse through the scene, “I already read this, so I think I already know. So Polonius obviously doesn’t seem to get tired of his spying acts, he’s such a pathetic rat. And Hamlet is philosophizing death in the soliloquy. Probably contemplating dying himself, and how it would release him from the slings and arrows, but then he would not know what comes next, so the release may or may not be worth it. And then he tells Ophelia that he never loved her, suggesting that he is no longer the same person that he was at the beginning of the play. And then his disregard for her eventually becomes one of the reasons she goes insane.”

Dick tilted his head, “Wow… What happened, Damian? Three days back, you were struggling with the use of language in Shakespeare and now you’re analyzing it inside and out! That was brilliant!” 

Damian couldn’t hide the soft blush rising to his cheeks at the compliment. He opened his mouth to respond when there was a cheeky voice coming from the doorway, “I saw him ask Alfred for help while you were out being Detective Grayson.” 

Dick turned around and smiled at Tim, “Hey Tim.” 

Damian glared at Tim as he walked in and sat on the armchair by the desk, “You spied on me, Drake?” 

Tim shrugged, “Nah, I was just passing by. I also heard you make Alfred promise he won’t tell Dick or Bruce.” 

Dick grinned and threw an arm around Damian, “You’re just so ado-” 

Damian snarled and slapped Dick’s hand away, shoving him in the torso and pinning him on the bed with his hand at the older male’s throat, “Can you just stop touching me whenever you please, Grayson?!” 

Dick sighed and held his hands up in apology. Tim’s laughter filled the room, easing the tension that Damian’s snarl had created, “You two are so entertaining.”

When Damian’s hand did not budge from Dick’s throat, Dick effortlessly picked it up and eased his own breathing. “Watch yourself, kid.” Damian glared down at Dick, but Dick wasn’t letting this one go - he returned Damian’s glare with one of his own. Normally, Dick just laughed off all of Damian’s attacks, but with Damian having a hand at his throat and refusing to budge even after Dick stopped his ‘assault’, Dick couldn’t help the glare that came to his face. A few seconds later, Dick’s expression eased and he sighed, looking at Damian with gentler eyes, “Sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped like that.” He reached forward and pet Damian’s head, letting go of his hand. 

Damian blinked a couple of times in confusion, “You’re touching me casually again.” 

Tim smiled and climbed on the bed, on Damian’s other side, “ I wouldn’t take it too personally if I was you, little D. Dick is just handsy.” He pulled Damian off of Dick and playfully dropped him back on the bed. 

Dick grinned at the boy and sat up, ticking Damian’s sides. Damian yelped - yes, yelped, as in high pitched squeak - and kicked about, “Grayson! Stop it!!” Dick, of course, just tickled harder, because this was entertainment at its peak. Damian tried to push Dick off, “Grayson, I swear if you don’t stop!!! Goddamnit! _Richard_!! Cut it out!!” Dick and Tim both froze and looked down at Damian intently, all tickling ceased. Damian frowned and pushed them away sitting up, “What?!”  

Tim smiled and looked from Damian to Dick and then back, “I do believe that’s the first time you’ve called Dick by his name. Or well, his real name anyway.” 

Dick blinked a couple of times and nodded, looking down at Damian, “Yes it is…” Damian frowned and pulled away from the both of them, laying down on the bed. Dick smiled and crawled closer to Damian, laying down beside him and playing with the kid’s hair, “Sometimes you’re a devilish kid, but sometimes, you’re the cutest thing on the planet.” 

Tim smiled and lay down on Dick’s other side, wrapping an arm around him, effectively spooning him, “It’s like we’re all kids again.” 

Dick grinned and looked at Tim over his shoulder, “You two are still kids, Tim.” He tapped the arm at his waist, “And then you tell me that I’m handsy.” He turned to Damian and found those intense green eyes staring at him and Tim. He chuckled a bit and tilted his head, “What?” 

Damian pointed at Tim’s arm around Dick’s waist and asked in a monotone, with no change to his expression, “Are you two together?” 

Dick and Tim both burst out laughing at that in unison. Dick replied first, “Good lord, I hope such an apocalyptic day never comes upon us.” 

Tim laughed and reached over, ruffling Damian’s soft hair (it had become somewhat a thing for Dick, Tim and Alfred. They just loved playing with Damian’s hair), “Dick and I have been this close for ages. Maybe since I was 12? It feels like forever though. So all this is just normal. You’ll understand when you’ve been around Grayson for long enough.” 

Dick pouted and stuck his tongue out at Tim before turning to Damian, “Anyway, isn’t it too early for you to be concerning yourself with relationships?” 

Damian tilted his head, “Why?” 

Dick smiled and shook his head, “No, it’s nothing. Do you want to continue Hamlet?” 

Damian shrugged and shook his head, unable to stop himself from going a little red with embarrassment, “Pennyworth taught me all of it, actually.” 

A huge, ridiculous grin grew on Dick’s face at that and he threw his arms around Damian, hugging him close, “You’re just the cutest little thing, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely not!” Damian struggled and pushed against Dick’s chest, “You’re too close!!!” 

Dick laughed and held Damian close. Tim chuckled and peeped over to make sure the older male wasn’t about to asphyxiate the future Robin, “I wouldn’t bother trying to fight him, Baby Bat.” 

That was it. Remember how Damian had attempted 10 assassinations on Dick and only 2 on Tim? Well, make that 3, because Damian Wayne hated being called a baby more than he hated Jason Todd. Damian all but climbed on top of Dick to reach over and grab for Tim’s throat. He only caught Tim’s wrist though, because Tim knew how to fend for himself. Tim groaned and looked at Damian, “Alright, alright!! Not a baby!” 

Damian sighed and let go of Tim after a few seconds, which was when he realized what a compromising position he was in. _By Grandfather’s name, was I always this impulsive?_

In the meantime, Dick found himself on the verge of laughing. He was a little surprised at how light Damian’s body weight was. It felt like he had a slightly overweight cat on him. Which, again, made him want to laugh, because Damian was so much like a cat in every other way. The analogy just made so much sense. He smiled and rolled over so that Damian was back on the bed, though this time between the two older males. Damian let out a soft yawn and nuzzled into the pillow, comfortable in the warmth given out by the two men. Dick smiled and touched Damian’s hair, _how is he so adorable sometimes, and so silly at other times? And then straight up rude at other times? Damian Wayne, you are a mystery._

Tim smiled and stood up, “Well, that’s my cue. I’m not about to go to sleep at the same time as a ten year old, so I’ll be off to Netflix in my room. You have fun trying to fall asleep at 9PM.” Tim winked and skipped out of the room happily. 

Dick smiled and pulled the sheets over Damian and himself, and wrapped an arm around Damian to keep him warm. Tim was right, it was way too early for him to go to sleep himself. Damian muttered something under his breath, probably some snarky remark, but Dick didn’t catch it, so he simply held Damian tighter. Damian yawned once again and leaned against Dick, making Dick smile happily. He waited for a while, it may have been close to half an hour, or more, until Damian seemed sound asleep. Dick somehow found himself being unable to get bored of watching Damian breathe in and out calmly. Probably because Damian barely stopped to breathe during the day, running around the place, wrecking havoc, much like Dick had when he first came to the Wayne Manor. Although, Dick’s havoc had been things like sliding down the staircase railing. Or hanging off some of the chandeliers. Not trying to assassinate all the members of the family. _Although, I guess that’s the difference between having Alfred as a teacher and me as one. Maybe I’m just not strict enough._ Once Dick was certain that Damian was deep asleep, he smiled and carefully pulled away from him, walking over to the bookshelf to find something to read until he was ready to sleep.   

Dick Grayson had spent too much of his life running around and fighting crime. First, running around with Bats, then with the Young Justice team, then in Bludhaven, and now back in Gotham. And he definitely had spent way too much time playing video games. So he had barely done much reading outside of school texts. Even though he would really have loved to read more. He pulled out a book from the shelf, _The Hobbit_. He had heard pretty good things about it, and it was supposed to be a lighter read than the sequel series. He sighed and walked to the door, closing it gently and then turning off all the lights in the room. He walked back to the bed and turned on the light by his bedside, only to realize that Damian was tossing around a little bit. He tilted his head and crawled back under the sheets, petting his head, but not laying down yet. He sighed in relief when he saw that Damian calmed down at that. He really wasn’t used to being alone in the too-soft bed. Poor kid. A few days after Damian had moved in, Dick had tried to leave Damian to sleep alone, but all that resulted in was Damian waking up soon after and trying to train. So Dick had given up on his own room and decided to be with Damian for the greater good of the Wayne Manor.  

The last week had been so relaxing for Dick. He had gone out as Detective Grayson on two days, and as Nightwing on 4 nights. But he had spent a majority of his time managing this bundle of joy and cuteness, so sure, he had been having quite the time of his life. Damian was quite fond of math, science and language. They didn’t need many lessons in those subjects because Damian knew very advanced things in them, which most people wouldn’t learn till late high school or even university. But Damian was weaker in history and literature. Dick assumed that it had something to do with the fact that Ra’s probably filtered what Damian could and couldn’t read, both in terms of literature and news. He was getting better at understanding literature though, thanks to Alfred it would seem. Dick remembered when Alfred would teach him literature, and Alfred was extremely passionate about teaching it. In another life, Alfred would have made a wonderful English teacher. Dick was a little disappointed in himself for being unable to teach Damian how to understand literature himself. Maybe the jump from poetry to Shakespeare was too soon. Maybe he should have started with an easier Shakespeare play. He just assumed that his own first Shakespeare was fine, but maybe it wasn’t. Maybe prose would have been a better choice.

Dick sighed and shook his head, trying not to beat himself up too much over that. He would learn from it and become a better teacher over the months. It wasn’t like Damian would just ask Dick to stop and just go ask Alfred to teach him everything. Would he? He sighed and set the book down, turning off the light. He wasn’t doing much reading anyway. He lay down next to Damian and gently touched his hair. _Ughhh he’s so damn adorable!!! It’s not fair!!!_ He sighed and turned away from Damian. After the very first night, he hadn’t cuddled Damian in his sleep, because he didn’t want Tim or Jason to give Damian any more reason to kill him. He smiled and shook his head, soon falling asleep comfortably against the soft pillow and under the warmth of the blankets.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally some action! Robin action, nothing dirty ;)

Early in the morning, Dick snapped up at a loud sound. At first, he was totally on alert, expecting someone breaking in, or already having broken in, but then he groaned a bit with a weak morning smile when he saw Damian on the floor in a tangle of clothes, squirming around to try and get his jeans on. Damian Wayne was always very well-dressed, but it was always Dick or Alfred who did the dressing part. For one, whenever Damian did not choose to wear hoodies, he always chose ridiculous outfits, and two, he mostly hadn’t a clue how to put on western outfits, after being brought up in the uniform of The League of Shadows. 

 

With a yawn and a quick stretch, Dick walked over to Damian and wrapped his arms around the boy’s waist from behind him. He smiled and helped Damian with his jeans, “Morning.” He rose to his full height behind Damian, buttoning and zipping up the jeans before taking a few deep breaths, unintentionally sniffing the younger male, "You already took a shower?”

 

Damian shrugged and allowed Dick to help him out. Not like he could help himself very well anyway. "I was bored. And it is not worth it to kill you in your sleep, Grayson.”

 

Dick smiled and let go of Damian, though not before ruffling up his hair. Dick looked over at Damian's selection of clothing, slightly confused by what he saw. He pointed over at his old black hoodie that had “STRAIGHT OUTTA THE CLOSET” written in upper case in the rainbow colours. Dick sighed and shook his head a bit, “Well, I’m glad that you have taken a liking to hoodies, but are you sure this is what you want to wear?”

 

Damian tilted his head, “What’s got your socks wet, Grayson?”

 

Dick sighed and shook his head, “Great use of the expression, but I don’t need the attitude, kid.” Dick sighed and sat down at the edge of the bed, “Listen. I know you don’t care, but do you remember the history lesson I gave you a few nights back?”

 

Damian looked up at Dick with a blank expression, “Gay rights?”

 

Dick nodded and sighed, “Yeah. Well, the thing is, there is terminology, such as the closet, and patterns, like rainbows, which are inherently associated with LGBT communities. I’m sure you don’t care, but other people do, and it might seem odd if you wear that hoodie out. Since, you know, it does say ‘straight outta the closet.’ I know that doesn’t mean much to you, but that generally means when you tell your friends and family that you’re gay, or bi, or whatever. I was okay to wear it, because I… ‘came out of the closet’ when I was maybe 12 or 13, and haven’t looked back since. But if you, who are still discovering yourself, went out wearing that, people will surely get way too interested in your sexuality, and just label you as gay, effeminate or something stupid. People just like to get overly involved in other people’s lives. And I know you don’t care about how others judge you, but it isn’t fun getting strange looks in stores. Trust me, I’ve been there.”

 

Damian looked at Dick for a moment and joined him on the bed, sitting next to Dick, though obviously not really following along, “People are stupid. I’ll pick something else.” He sighed dejectedly and walked to the closet.

 

Dick sighed and walked after Damian, “I didn’t mean it like that Dami… That is a nice hoodie, and you can wear it at home whenever you want. I won’t care. I’m worried for you…” He paused for a moment before petting Damian’s head and continuing, “Here, should I pick something for you? Something super comfy for when we go out!”

 

Damian looked up at Dick and tilted his head, entirely missing the point, “We’re going out?”

 

Dick nodded with a sigh, “For some reason, Alfred thinks it’s a good idea. He told me yesterday. I think he just wants groceries and some peace of mind though.”

 

Damian sighed in relief, “Good. It’s been too long since I’ve been out.”

 

Dick raised his eyebrow and ruffled Damian’s hair again, “Blame yourself! You’re the one who decided to try to run away the last time I took you out. Even if you didn’t get far.”

 

Damian rolled his eyes, “Yeah, because we ran into Todd! That ponce!” Damian glared at the memory, though at nothing and nobody in particular, “Fine, I won’t run. What? Do you want me to promise? I will, so just take me out more.”

 

Dick smiled and nodded, “Well, if you’re being such a good kid, I don’t see why not.” He made an elegant mess of Damian’s hair as usual, and sighed, “I suppose I’ll hop in the shower then.”

 

Before Dick could walk away, Damian reached out and grabbed the very bottom corner of Dick’s nightshirt sleeve, “I’m still not dressed, Grayson.”

 

Dick looked down at the shirtless boy and chuckled a bit, “Whoops, sorry!” He smiled and helped Damian into a navy v-neck t-shirt. He paused for a moment, looking at his old closet before pulling out a fuzzy navy v-neck sweater with white stripes. “How about this?” Damian nodded absently before Dick threw it on him with a grin. “There you go, you look adorable. Do you want a scarf? It might be a bit cold out.” Damian nodded and pointed at a matching navy muffler in the closet. Dick smiled and pulled it out before wrapping it around Damian’s neck. “You look so cute. Give it 5 years, all your friends will be all over you! You’ll be such a lady-killer. Or man-killer, whatever you prefer.”

 

“I mean, you’re on top of my kill-list right now.” Damian responded with a straight face, causing Dick to burst out laughing. Damian pouted, though he couldn’t help the tiny blush that rose to his face. Dick did have a dashing smile. He pulled himself together and tilted his head up at the taller male, “Will we run into Todd again while we’re out?” He all but spat out Jason’s last name.

 

Dick laughed a bit and shook his head, ruffling Damian’s hair, “Jason has better things to do, I’m sure, than finding ways to cross paths with the great Damian Wayne at a Whole Foods. But I do think he’s in Keystone right now. Or Coast City? Something like that. Far from here, either way.”

 

Damian nodded, “So you don’t keep up with his life like you do with Drake’s.”

 

Dick nodded and shrugged, “Jason and I were never particularly close. And especially not after he went all Red Hood on us.”

 

Damian nodded, watching Dick’s solemn expression, and noting the grave tone of his voice. That was a story that Damian didn’t really know. Because nobody at Wayne Manor really talked of Jason, particularly not about how he became the Red Hood. Not that Damian really cared for a story about Jason Todd, of all people, but they all seemed to let him walk in and out, and put up with his nuisance of an existence, but nobody really talked about him, or reminisced about times with him or anything of the sort. _Probably because Todd is a dumbass._

 

Dick smiled and played with Damian’s hair again, “Well, if I have your permission, Master Wayne, I’ll head in the shower. The sooner I’m ready, the sooner we can leave.”

 

Damian frowned at Dick, “Whatever! Stop messing up my hair!!”

 

Dick snickered and strutted out of the room, towards his own. Damian frowned and looked in the mirror. He reached up to play with his own hair a little bit, ruffling it gently, “What’s so fun about that?” He pouted as he fixed it and then looked down at the rest of his outfit. Dick was right. This style did look good on him. It looked…attractive. He supposed Grayson had alright taste. Damian sighed and looked back at his hair, resisting the urge to touch it. He could feel heat rising to his face, and the places where Dick’s fingers had touched were burning hot, as if they had just been burned. But not scorched. It just felt hot and he knew that he was blushing without needing to look in the mirror. In fact he was a little scared to look in the mirror, not knowing what kind of face he was making.

 

Damian sighed and crashed onto the armchair, reading a book for a little while as he waited for Dick. No more than 3 minutes later, he hopped up from the seat and walked towards the door, deciding he had waited long enough, and would rather ambush Dick when he got out of the shower. Just as he was about to walk out of his room, Tim’s head came poking through the doorframe, “Oh! Almost walked into you there! Morning, little D. Oh, wow! You look snazzy. Is Dick here?”

 

Damian frowned and looked up at Tim, stepping back and trying to hide the shock from his face, “What, can you and Grayson not stay apart for even 2 minutes? He’s in the shower, Drake. What do you want?!”

 

Tim raised his eyebrow and stepped into the room, looking down at Damian in slight concern, but also amusement, “You okay, kid? You seem more snappy than usual… And you’re usually plenty snappy.”

 

Damian tilted his head. Was he really being that snappy? Sure he didn’t like Drake, but that wasn’t anything new. And Tim was right, Damian was feeling more annoyed than usual at everything. All because Grayson touched his head? Why? Damian couldn’t help his cheeks from turning slightly pink from all the thinking, and he muttered out, “It’s all because of Grayson.”

 

A cheeky, wide grin grew on Tim’s face as he noticed Damian’s blush and very clearly heard him, though he pretended not to have, “Hmmm. I see now~”

 

Damian looked up at Drake, immediately glaring at the sight of his stupid grin, “You look like a maniac, Drake. What’s your problem?!”

 

Tim turned away and shrugged, turning his head and talking to Damian over his shoulder, “Oh, it would be no fun to tell you! But if you figure it out and need to talk to someone, I am still your big brother. Even if I’m choosing to bully you for now.” He stuck his tongue out at Damian childishly and skipped out of the room.

 

Damian rolled his eyes and watched Tim leave. He poked his head out the door, seeing Tim skip down the hallway. “What a tosser.”

 

As Damian was leaning out the door and Tim was long gone, he suddenly felt a finger on the back of his neck, causing him to shudder and turn around. He would have been ready to tackle someone, but unfortunately, he knew exactly who it was. The one and only Grayson. Dick smiled at Damian, still having a towel over his head to dry his hair, “Did you get bored waiting?”

 

Damian shrugged and shook his head, “Drake came by to bother me.” He noticed Dick’s outfit was a little on the fancy side, as usual. He was wearing a mauve shirt with medium blue skinny pants, a grey tie and grey vest, though it was not buttoned up. “You always dress like that.”

 

Dick shrugged, “Probably because I’m a detective, you know. And suits are fun clothes. Would you like one?”

 

Damian shot Dick a look of utter disgust, “What, so I can look like you? No.”

 

Dick laughed and ruffled his own hair with the towel to dry it off for the most part, before tossing the towel in Damian’s laundry bin, “Okay, let’s go, D.”

 

Damian nodded and followed Dick out of the room, though he quickly took the lead instead. He didn’t want to look up at Dick’s firm back after about 3 seconds, because it was bothering him. For some reason. As they walked into the garage, and up to Dick’s car, Damian tilted his head, “When do you think Father will let me go out as Robin?”

 

Dick thought for a moment as he unlocked the sports car and held Damian’s door open for him. Not that Damian needed or appreciated the help, but Dick was a gentleman. He closed the door once Damian was inside and walked around the car, getting into the driver’s seat and buckling himself in. “Who knows when he will? I’ve never understood what goes on inside Bruce’s head. He is also almost twice my age, so it’s kind of hard to relate to him, really.”

 

Damian sighed and buckled himself in, “I see.”

 

Dick smiled and started up the car, “We can worry about your superhero status later. I’m sure it’ll come in due time, kiddo. Where do you want to go?”

 

Damian looked up at Dick with a blank expression, “I thought Pennyworth wanted groceries.”

 

Dick nodded, “Of course, but do you want to go anywhere else? You can enjoy some time out as Damian before Robin, you know? Books, games, clothes, maybe?”

 

Damian shrugged in disinterest, “I don’t really care much for clothes. And there’s already way too many books in my room alone, so I only imagine there’s a lot more in the rest of the Manor. Same with games, considering you and Drake live under the same roof. I don’t care much for shopping.”

 

Dick raised an eyebrow, “Well, obviously, I’m trying to get you started so that you have one or two hobbies that are not killing people, maiming people, arson, or anything along those lines. So how about maybe more clothes like what you’re wearing right now? That way you won’t always have to wear my clothes. Not that I mind, but they are slightly big on you since I was a bit older.”

 

Damian raised his eyebrow, but nodded uncaringly, “Sounds like you think I'm an arsonist, and you  _really_ want to shop for me.”

 

“I dunno, maybe I just want to spoil my baby brother.” Dick grinned and pulled the car out of the garage, speeding off towards the city. 

 

Damian glared up at Dick, “I will gut you in your sleep.”

 

Dick grinned wider and looked at Damian in his peripheral, “You already tried that once, remember? And since then, you’ve said it’s ‘not worth it’ to kill me in my sleep, but maybe it’s just because you failed?” Dick slurred his words slightly, teasing Damian.

 

Damian rolled his eyes, “That was the one and only time. Don’t hold your breath. I won’t fail again.”

 

Dick chuckled a bit and shook his head, “That’s a tall request with me as your target. I’m sure you would be just fine with just about anyone outside the family. But Tim and I aren’t going to be your average targets, as you’ve noticed.”

 

Damian sighed and looked out of the window. Dick was right. It was a little frustrating to admit it, but Damian couldn’t possibly kill either one of them, no matter how much they annoyed him. They were both always looking out for each other’s back, and they were both also remarkably aware of their own surroundings, so it was just impossible to take them by surprise. Or maybe… Maybe Damian just wasn’t trying his hardest. But why? Damian Wayne never half-assed anything.

 

Dick couldn’t help but smile at the lack of response, and Damian’s contemplative face wasn’t helping. He graciously accepted and revelled in his victory for a few seconds as he turned up the radio, not really bothering to change it from the GCPD radio.

 

After a few moments of silence and mostly static from the radio, save for a few useless comments, there was suddenly a loud noise followed by a middle-aged male voice, “Armed robbery in progress at dock 17. Requesting immediate backup.”

 

Dick all but slammed on the brakes of the car, pulling to the side of the road, with a loud groan. “Are you bloody kidding me?! It’s broad daylight and it’s Sunday! Who the fu-” He immediately cut himself off and bit his lip. He cleared his throat after a couple of minutes and looked at Damian from the corner of his eye, “Sorry, kid, I didn’t mean to.” He sighed and looked in the backseat where his briefcase was, as usual (which contained all things Nightwing). But what about Damian? Surely he couldn’t just leave Damian in the car and go quickly finish this up. Not that he didn’t have confidence in his abilities, but he definitely did not trust that Damian would stay in the car for even two seconds. He sighed and activated stealth mode in his car, though he would have to ask Tim what exactly that did during broad daylight hours, and began driving even faster towards the dock, “You said you wanted to go out as Robin, Dami. How ready are you right now?” Damian’s eyes lit up like they never had before, and Dick could see them so clearly, even just out of his peripheral. He sighed and nodded, pointing in the back, “Okay, reach in the back and find a blue cloth bag. It has my old Robin costume. It should fit you fine. You won’t have the toys today, but I know you can fight well without them. I know you struggle with changing, but I can’t help right now. I need you to figure it out. I know you can, you’re a quick learner.” 

 

Damian nodded and retrieved the bag with no effort. He looked down at his clothes with a bit of a sigh and looked back up at Dick for a moment. He sighed and took off his clothes effortlessly and took a deep breath before beginning his struggle with putting on the spandex suit. Dick tried not to look too impressed when Damian finally did succeed in getting it on himself completely. Damian sighed and tugged at it a bit, “It does fit fine.”

 

Dick nodded and sighed, handing Damian his phone, “Okay, I need you to call Tim and tell him. He’ll be our eyes on the dock until we see the perp. Alfred, if Tim doesn’t answer.” 

 

Damian nodded and called Tim from Dick’s phone, putting it on speaker. 

 

The ring cut off as Tim answered, “Hey Dick, did Damian run away again? I knew I should've stayed in the cave.”

 

Damian rolled his eyes, “Drake, there’s an armed robbery at Dock 17. Grayson and I are going in.”

 

Tim groaned in annoyance, much like Dick had, “It’s Sunday for fu- uh… for Bat’s sake… Why are our lives like this?!” He sighed heavily and made his way to the Batcave, panting over the phone as he sprinted there. Dick soon pulled up in a hidden spot near the dock. He reached behind him and grabbed his own briefcase, making quick work of changing. He was used to it after all these years. There was some aggressive typing sounds on the phone before Tim’s voice chimed again, “Okay, Damian, I’m hacked into the street cameras. Looks like a single perp, and I don’t see any cops there yet.”

 

Dick nodded and put on his comms, and fixed a pair into Damian’s ears before getting out of the car. Damian followed suit, hanging up the call and leaving the phone behind, since they could hear Tim over the comms. Dick sighed, “Okay, thanks Tim. Keep an eye on him.” He turned to Damian and took a deep breath, “Okay, you’re Robin now. Don’t call my real name, for obvious reasons. Use the comms to listen to Tim and myself, and please, kid. Whatever you do, don’t charge in blind and ignore us. I don’t want to see you get hurt. This could be very dangerous, potentially.”

 

Damian nodded and put on his mask, taking one of Dick’s Escrima sticks as his weapon. He hadn’t used something like it before, but how hard could it be? “Okay, _Nightwing_. Now let’s go before this robbery is over.” Dick nodded and led the way to the dock, sprinting and taking cover behind as many carts as they could. Damian looked out onto the ship, immediately noticing the perp trying to carry something sizeable off the ship. He tilted his head, “Looks like a woman.”

 

Tim’s voice came through the comms, “She is, and boy is she _beautiful_!” Dick snickered, and Damian rolled his eyes, so Tim cleared his throat, “Ahem, sorry, not the point. I know. That boat was carrying some expensive artworks that were going to go into the Gotham City Museum, so if she makes away with that painting, that could be worth close to a million. Or more maybe, I can’t see what it is from here.”

 

Damian nodded and watched as she got off the ship with it, which was perfect, because now he could get to her in a matter of seconds, and be done with this. He looked at Dick for a moment, “I can take her, she’s in a perfectly straight line from me, and she’ll probably let down her guard when she loads that in her truck.”

 

Dick tilted his head and looked at Damian, “Wait, Tim might have more infor-”

 

Before Dick could even finish, Damian was running off towards the perp. He groaned into the comms and watched, hoping Damian would be able to take her out as easily as he claimed. There was a sudden gasp from the comms, and Dick’s eyes widened. Damian had just reached the truck and looked at the lady.

 

Tim called out from the comms, “Damian, don’t! Wait! She is-”

 

Before Tim could finish, the woman in front of him suddenly disappeared in a poof, and suddenly showed up behind him, punching him in the back and sending Damian to his knees in shock. Dick’s eyes widened as Tim finished his sentence, “A Meta from Central City. Shawna Baez - she can teleport.”

 

Dick sighed and ran in after her and grabbed her from behind before she could hurt Damian any further. “Shawna Baez. Don’t move. We can’t have you taking that art.”

 

Shawna snarled and teleported her way out of Dick’s hold and over to Damian’s other side. “What’s it to you, Birdie? Stay out of my way, or I’ll hurt your baby bird.” She grabbed Damian by his hair and lifted him up, making Dick visibly cringe. 

 

Damian groaned, and glared up at Shawna. “Let me go, hag.”

 

Shawna’s eyebrow twitched in anger and she snarled down at Damian, “Didn’t mummy ever tell you to be nice to ladies?” She pulled the Escrima stick out of Damian’s hand and hit his leg with it, just below his knee. Damian gritted his teeth to silence a groan that threatened to escape.

 

Dick gripped his own sticks harder, having to try his hardest not to throw daggers at her face at the sight of Damian in pain. “Let him go, Shawna. You’re outnumbered.”

 

Shawna grinned at Dick and tilted her head, “Sure, but last I checked neither of you can catch me, and in fact, I have one of you caught.”

 

Dick laughed a bit and shook his head, “You really don’t. If I know anything about Robin, I know that he doesn’t stay caught.” Damian couldn’t help but grin at Dick for that, and he very easily elbowed Shawna in her gut and got free of her hold. He was Damian Wayne after all. Slippery and swift. He then turned around and roundhouse kicked her in the same spot, only she teleported away before he could land his kick, so it was just in the air. She was now nowhere to be seen.

 

Tim sighed over the comms, “Hang in there, Robin. She’s in the driver’s seat! Well, Dick, I hope you have Meta handcuffs, because she can teleport as far as she can see. The only thing that can stop her is the darkness, but it’s broad daylight, so she has a huge advantage.”

 

Dick sighed and looked at Damian, for a quick moment to make sure he was okay before he pulled out a Wing-Ding (as Tim had so beautifully named his “Nightwing” versions of Batarangs) and threw it at the car tire, efficiently puncturing it. Shawna growled and teleported back out of the car and glared at the vigilantes. Dick took a deep breath and looked down at Damian for a quick moment, giving him a nod before grabbing one of his Escrima sticks and running at her. The moment he was close enough, Shawna promptly disappeared in another poof, but Dick simply grinned. He had been in the business long enough to know what was coming. He had used himself as a decoy, so _when_ Shawna teleported behind Damian to use him as leverage again, Damian could efficiently snap on the Meta-human Power Dampening cuffs on her, which Dick had slipped to him just before running at Shawna. Dick sighed and shook his head, turning around, “You know, my Robin may not be very well-trained yet, but he sure as hell ain’t weak. You tried the same trick twice, and that never works with him.”

 

Dick smirked and walked over, ruffling Damian’s hair, “Good work, Robin.” He turned to Shawna and sighed, “So, what brings you all the way to Gotham City, Shawna?”

 

Shawna growled and tried to get free of the cuffs, but she couldn’t, obviously. Tim was good at what he did. Dick smiled and tied her to her truck before quickly texting a tip to the GCPD, which of course, wasn’t even at the scene yet for whatever reason. He sighed and shook his head, looking over at Damian, “Come on, Robin. Let’s get home and get you some rest.”

 

Damian nodded and led the way back to Dick’s car, both vigilantes ignoring Shawna’s curses from the truck. Once they were by the car, Dick quickly stepped in front of Damian and pulled him into a tight hug, wrapping an arm around the younger male’s neck and pressing Damian’s face into his firm chest. “You did good, Damian… Really. You had me worried for a moment when she knocked you out, but you recovered. I’m glad you’re okay.”

 

Damian blinked a few times and looked up at Dick. What was going on? Damian had just been giving himself a hard time in his head, telling himself that he had been utterly useless, and that he should have been able to react faster, instead of being taken out so quickly. He leaned into Dick’s hold pathetically, and sighed, “Grayson… I don’t need your pity.”

 

Dick raised his eyebrow and looked down at Damian, though not loosening his grip on him, “What made you think I’m showing you pity? I think you did great for your first time, you fought your instincts, even though you could have severely injured her, you didn’t. You did the right thing, and cuffed her just in time. You have potential, kiddo.”

 

Tim grinned, watching them through the hacked surveillance cameras, “Dick’s right, he doesn’t really know how to show pity. You should’ve seen when he was Bats and I was Robin. He’s relentless. So just accept the compliment, kiddo.”

 

Damian looked up at Dick and sighed, “Fine fine, then let me go… I want to get back to the Manor.”

 

Dick sighed and nodded, shaking his head a little bit, “Alright… I suppose I can take you shopping another time.”

 

Damian nodded and got in the car quickly, before Dick had even completely let go of him. Dick sighed and got in the car himself, taking his mask off before starting up the engine. He looked over at Damian, “You can take the mask off too, you know? Nobody can see inside from outside.”

 

Damian nodded and took it off his face, sighing down at it, “Will Father be okay with the fact that I was Robin today?”

 

Dick shrugged, as he sped towards the Manor, “I don’t care, actually. I think today was as good a time as any. And you are ready. Not to mention he did entrust your training to me, so I do get to make decisions like this. But he probably will bust a blood vessel over this, to answer your question.”

 

Damian looked up at Dick and tilted his head, “Why would you go against him?”

 

Dick sighed and shrugged, “Because I think he’s wrong. I think you have great potential for Robin, and even though you’re not yet trained, I don’t think he’s right to suppress your potential.”

 

Damian couldn’t help the light blush that rose to his face at that. He couldn’t believe that Dick Grayson, the original Boy Wonder and the very first Robin, was speaking so highly of him. Of course, Damian was proud of who he was. He was blood to Bruce. And he would take a bullet for his father. But it was nice to have someone believe in him. Maybe Grayson would take a bullet for him.

 

As soon as Dick parked at the Manor, Damian ran out of the car, heading to his room. Dick laughed a bit and followed him, though not before stopping at his own room and kicking off the Nightwing suit, putting on a pair of lounge sweats and a t-shirt. He stepped into Damian’s room to see Damian unsurprisingly looking in the mirror. He grinned and pet Damian’s hair, “I think it suits you. But let’s get it off, and take a look at your leg.”

 

Damian tilted his head, having completely forgotten that he had taken a minor beating. Nothing he couldn’t handle. And nothing comparable to Tim or Dick blocking his attacks. Dick smiled and helped Damian out of the Robin suit, then put him in a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, just so he had access to Damian’s leg. “My Escrima sticks are pretty hard, so it’s actually pretty bad to get beaten with one. It’s why I’d never use one on you, no matter how much you annoy me.” He grinned at Damian playfully and sat down on the bed, patting the spot beside him. 

 

Damian sighed and sat down, “I’m fine, Grayson…” Dick nodded and picked Damian’s leg up, examining the slight red spot where he had taken the blow. He sighed and massaged it gently, as if looking for a spot that might hurt Damian. Right when he touched the spot at Damian’s shin, Damian hissed in pain. Dick smiled and shook his head.

 

“I’ll be back with an ice pack for that. Lie down if you want.” 

 

As Dick stood up, Damian reached out and grabbed the corner of Dick’s shirt, looking up at him, “I don’t need it.”

 

Dick sighed, “I’ll be back in a second, Damian, you do need it!”

 

Damian squeezed the bottom of Dick’s shirt for a second, before beginning to let go. Just then, there was a massive blur of yellow and red, and some yellow lightning. It made Damian’s eyes go wide and he squeezed Dick’s shirt all over again. Suddenly, there was a voice right behind Dick, “I heard something about an ice pack, so I thought I’d help the dynamic duo who helped catch my perp~” With that, an ice pack suddenly dropped on Damian’s leg, causing him to flinch a little bit, but also giving him almost immediate relief from the slight pain in his leg. He looked up at Dick to see a sudden new person in the room right next to Dick. Large green eyes on a freckled face and ginger hair. Damian tilted his head and blinked up at the man perching his head on Dick’s shoulder. He grinned down at Damian, “Wally West. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Damian. Though Tim and Dick have told mea bit!”

 

Damian raised his eyebrow. This was Wally West? Dick sighed and shook his head, “Damian, meet Kid-Flash. Wally, meet the new Robin.” Damian looked up and down, trying to figure out the current situation. What exactly was he looking at? He had heard that Wally West was Grayson’s best friend, but this seemed a little…odd. Wally resting his head on Dick’s shoulder from behind, and Dick not being fazed by it. Wally casually wrapping an arm around Dick’s waist and stroking his waistline gently, making Grayson shudder every now and then. Was it ticklish? Or something else? And who  _was_ West to be touching Grayson like this?! Before Damian knew it, he was glaring up at Wally, seething even. Dick frowned and touched Damian’s head, “Hey kid. Wally just brought you an ice pack, and he just introduced himself. You wanna greet him?”

 

Damian snarled and swatted Dick’s hand away, “Nice to meet you, _West_. Thanks for nothing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You get the feeling Tim is a bit like Cisco (from CW's Flash)? I didn't intend it, but there are similarities!


End file.
